


A Welcoming Grave

by ThunderPuff



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adult Content, Angst, Blood and Violence, Bullying, Cannibalism, Crushes, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Gryffindor, Healing, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, Love/Hate, Marauders' Era, Native American/First Nations Legends & Lore, Post-Movie 1: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Ravenclaw, Slytherin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-01-18 06:11:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12382500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThunderPuff/pseuds/ThunderPuff
Summary: “...Unlike most wizards and witches her age, Avada Kedabra had never really needed a wand -- It was more of a formality, as was audibly speaking incantations. Even thinking them… well...she never really needed to. Her magic had been so powerful that any strong negative emotion would set it off like an explosion. Her Pops compared it to an almost unbeatable force of magic he saw when he met Mr. Scamander; an Obscurus. The only difference was that she was born with it, and it ran in her family, which also happened to be - she was told - the 2nd oldest family in all of wizarding history…”





	1. The Hardest Part is Always the Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time she met Duchess, Avada had just turned 9. The little girl honestly thought it had been her best birthday yet; the little girl got a tiny unicorn statuette that pranced around her nightstand. It was a gift from her Grandmother, Illara Kowalski, that she herself received from her own mother. Avada’s life was perfect.

**Years ago**

The first time she met Duchess, Avada had just turned 9. The little girl honestly thought it had been her best birthday yet; the little girl got a tiny unicorn statuette that pranced around her nightstand. It was a gift from her Grandmother, Illara Kowalski, that she herself received from her own mother. Avada’s life was perfect.

Until that…  _ woman _ … walked into their lives. That was when everything got much much worse for the little girl.

It started small; she started to find herself bumping into walls and open doors and tripping over her own feet whenever Duchess was around. At some point Avada even thought that she felt an invisible shove. These incidents left her bruised all over, with occasionally bloody knees - against her suspicions, Avada brushed it off. The 9 year old  _ wanted _ to like the pretty blonde woman that she thought could finally be her new mommy. 

More-so, she thought, she might  _ finally _ have a mommy in the  _ first place. _

Eventually Duchess moved in, a shiny new ring on her left hand - the one Ava helped her Pa pick out. That was when Ava knew that those little scratches and bruises weren’t accidents: the first time Ava was left  _ truly _ alone with that woman, she heard a quiet whisper behind her and suddenly the little girl was tumbling head first down the two flights of stairs she took to get from her room to the first floor. Duchess has come following  after her, expression full of concern. She’d pulled Ava to her feet a bit harder than necessary.

“Oh, My dear child!” She had said. “You really shouldn’t stand in the way of the stairs…” Even still, the child chalked it up to an accident. Her own fault.

The next was just before dinner a few days later;  Ava excused herself to wash her hands before eating - at the behest of her Pa - and Duchess did so as well. They were alone, once again, in a cramped space at that. While scrubbing her hands Ava was suddenly grabbed harshly by the older woman beside her, those perfectly manicured hands tugging and pulling at the little girl’s fingers until she cried out in pain.

“Have to get -- all of that dirt -- off of these grubby little hands,” Duchess snarled, her beautiful face contorting and twisting into that of a monster. “Don’t we?” 

Ava stayed silent for fear of crying.

Wrong move.

Avada learned quickly that if she didn’t respond it would get worse -- and that cruel witch knew how to get to her -- she involves Atticus, Ava’s Pa, in punishing her.

If he asked her to do something, like cleaning her room or brushing her teeth, she would run to tell him that she was finished and when they returned to the room, it would be even worse for wear. It led to Ava being scolded - even spanked, when it began to occur more and more often.

Avada would swear up and down that she didn’t do it. “I didn’t do it!” She would cry. “Daddy, It wasn’t me!” This would lead to even more punishment for lying under the words “you know better than that, Bunny.” Still, she never said it was Duchess. She wouldn’t risk taking her Pa’s happiness away…

Eventually, the little girl stopped complaining all together. She stopped fighting against it, and instead began to focus on  _ surviving _ the onslaught of Duchess.

Even to escape, Ava couldn’t stay in her room because - if Duchess had to come looking for her - she would be punished. At one point, Duchess used a spell that made her writhe and cry and scream in agony until she fainted. But this was never done when Atticus was home. They were always alone.  She would eventually begin to beg when Duchess would pull off enough to keep her conscious. Only when Avada could finally choke out “I’ll never do it again!” would Duchess leave her be.

After one of these occurrences, it was the first instance that she felt her own horrific magic bubbling up inside her chest like vomit. It was as if she drank too much milk that was past its expiration date.

Over the course of a year after this, Ava’s eyes slowly changed from the darkest shade of brown into a honey-gold hue. Things would also begin to rattle, shake and rocket off of the shelves whenever she got angry or scared. It had it’s merits though - her Pa, Atticus, began spending more time with her: telling her about their family and her powers. He showed her his own spectacular powers. He also said, though, that she was special, but wouldn’t say why. “When you’re older, Princess,” He’d say.

From her suffering came something she could rely on in the end. Even then, she was still weary when her Pa told her she was going to be a big sister...

**September 1st, 1971. Bellevue Hospital Center, NY.** **  
** **_The Start of Everything_ **

“Avada,” A gruff sounding voice had grown even more gruff from inside one of the many maternity rooms the Bellevue Hospital Center had. It came from Atticus; a tall dark haired gentleman with honey colored eyes. A tower of warmth and love. “Get in here, Bunny. He ain’t gon’ bite.”   _ Won’t bite, he said. _ Easy for him to say; he couldn’t see the cauldron of  _ pure evil _ that the little monster came from. 

The little girl - the one that was refusing to step into the birthing room with her Step-monster, her father and her half-brother - was Avada. She was going to turn 12 in a few weeks, and today, September 1st, was the day she was supposed to start her first year at Illvermorny; the North American School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Instead she was stuck in this ugly institute that smelled like chlorine and puke  _ just  _ to watch an evil woman she hated give birth to a little monster that was probably going to grow up just like her.  Oh no, Avada was  _ not _ going to give in. 

Still, the little girl with the deepest, darkest brown hair that looked black from a distance and honey golden eyes shuffled into the room. She was keeping her hand on the doorframe incase the newborn suddenly grew fangs, sprouted wings and leapt at her to slurp her brains like the Swooping Evil that her Pop always told her about.  Her Pa wasn’t having it, though.

“Scoot ya boot, Bunny.” Little Avada was going to talk back, but the warm look on her Pa’s face made her shut her mouth, trudging over to her Paternal caregiver. Avada didn’t miss the look of icy contempt on the Step-monster Duchess’ face the closer she got, but she didn’t dare even wrinkle her nose in response; Avada wouldn’t upset her Pa like that. “Sit, Babydoll.” 

It had taken her a moment to find the chair her father pointed to, and another just to climb into it - she was smaller than most her age. Then, the next thing she knew, a bundle of soft white blankets was placed in her arms with a gentle ‘Don’t drop him, Bunny…’

_ Drop him? _

Her gaze dropped to the bundle in her arms to find a pair of eyes similar to her own blinking up at her. Gross. He looked like a wrinkled pink potato. 

There was a little tuft of honey blonde hair peeking out from under the blanket.  _ It looks so… soft… _ Avada hadn’t realized she lifted her hand to brush that tuft from his forehead until a tiny little hand was wrapped around her middle finger. The little boy cooed at her, pink gums showing from his wide grin as he wagged his arms around and kicked his feet. 

She couldn’t help the warm smile that curled her own lips. “Hi, Little Levi...” 

If Avada had looked up, she would have noticed the look of surprise on her father, Atticus’, face and rage on Duchess’. Atticus didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise,so he simply smiled - and when the baby’s birth certificate came Atticus signed it for one Levi Jacob Kedabra-Kowalski.

Levi had quickly become Ava’s precious little brother; he was someone she was instantly willing to do anything for. Every time he cried while she was around, she’d pull him into her arms and hum softly to him until he quieted. Soon enough, any time Levi was in her arms he quieted - until finally he would stop crying when he heard the name ‘Avy’.


	2. Levi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She felt bad for waking him so she was aiming to resolve it by swaying slowly from side to side as her hand stroked his back. It didn’t take long for him to relax into her, but she still opened her mouth to sing - just for good measure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are lyrics in this. All music/lyrics are not my own. Music involved: Elvis.

###  ******Monday September 1st, 1975; 09:00AM. before Avada starts her 5th Year.** **  
****_“I can’t help fallin’ in love with you”_**  


It happened like this every time she was trying to leave; either she had to sneak out, or cuddle him until he let her leave. Every time she tried to sneak out Ava would always turn right back around and kiss Levi’s face until he awoke just so she could say goodbye.

Today was no different.

Ava woke him up and he immediately started sobbing when he saw her face before throwing himself into her arms. She was already clad in her Uniform - a Cranberry button-down shirt and a high waisted knee length skirt - so he knew she was going to be leaving him.

“Don’t go, Avy!” He hiccoughed and rubbed his tears onto her shoulder. “Don’t leave me!” While his tears soaked her shirt, she stroked his tousled blonde hair. It always seemed to be perpetually messy. He first reacted like this after he turned one, and when she came back she had asked him why he would sob so much.

Back then, Levi had only responded with a “M-m…” before his lips seemed to zip of their own accord. It was enough for her though. That discovery resulted in her holding him close and promising to protect him; ‘always’. Including from his mommy. ‘Just call fuh me,’ she had said. ‘Call fuh me with this’, and had placed her hand over his tiny little heart.

Now, Avada pressed kisses all over her little brother’s face and brushed away his tears. “I’m not leaving just yet, Punkin,” Levi sniffled when their eyes met, his little body curled up in her lap. “I wanted tuh say ‘bye’ first.  Now _UP_ we go!” Avada hefted the now four-year-old into her arms as she stood, sitting on his little cot after grabbing the hairbrush she left in his room for whenever she brushed his hair - Merlin knew Duchess never took care of him. At least: never without hurting or screaming at him.

Even though Levi knew his big sister was going to be leaving soon after she was done taking care of him - just as she took care of him every morning, day and night that she was home - he settled back against her chest, head cushioned by her bosom.

“I can’t brush ya if ya sit like that, Punkin…”

In order to solve that problem, she turned him around so his forehead rested against her bosom while she brushed his hair softly. Levi was curled up, head bumping with each beat of her heart. His tears slowly quieted, even as Ava could hear the occasional sniffle. When his mess of blond hair was somewhat tamed, Ava stood again with him held to her chest and his head resting in the crook of her neck.

She felt bad for waking him so she was aiming to resolve it by swaying slowly from side to side as her hand stroked his back. It didn’t take long for him to relax into her, but she still opened her mouth to sing - just for good measure.

 _Wise men say only fools rush in_  
_But I can't help falling in love with you_  
_Oh, shall I stay, would it be a sin_ _  
_ Oh, if I can't help falling in love with you?

 _Like a river flows, surely to the sea_  
_Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be_  
_Take my hand, take my whole life too_ _  
_ Oh, for I can't help falling in love with you

At this point, she could hear his breathing had already changed: inhaling and exhaling deeply with little twitches in between. She smiled, placing a hand at the back of his head and resting her right cheek on top of it.

 _Oh, like a river flows, surely to the sea_  
_Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be_  
_Oh, take my hand, take my whole life too_ _  
_ For I can't help falling in love with you

_Oh, for I can't help falling in love with you_

Just as her voice trailed off and her swaying had stopped Avada noticed her Pa, Atticus, standing it the doorway with a warm smile. He was leaning against the frame but motioned with his head for her to follow him. Ava merely returned his smile with one of her own and moved to face Levi’s cot. He was fast asleep, lashes wet with leftover tears.

“I love ya, Punkin…” She whispered softly, placing him back on his cot and pulling his fluffy little Thunderbird Quilt (one that she made special for him) up to his chin with a tiny kiss to his forehead. “I’ll see you when I come home..”

******Monday September 1st, 1975; 45 minutes later, in the NY subway.** ****  
**“On Her Way!”**  


“Yeuh have all of yah books?”

“Yeah, Pa.”

“And yah parchment and quills? How bout yah Snacks?”

“ _Yeah_ , Pa”

“The Music-letters?” He was referring to the parchment he charmed  to play No-maj music when unfolded.

“Yes! Pa, C’mon!”

Ava was trying to say goodbye to everyone, but Atticus wouldn’t have it without asking if she had absolutely everything. Ever since her ma passed away when she was young her Pops said he was such a worrywort - Atticus even went so far to ask if she packed enough _undergarments_.

He gave her a cheesy grin and wrapped his arms around her. He was tall where she was short, and stood over a foot above her at 6’2”, but that was one of three differences between them. “Pa,” she said, tone scolding. “It’s my fifth year. I think I might know what I need by now.” He only laughed and kissed her hair.

“Oh bunny, You’re so much like your mother.” Only responding with a roll of her eyes, Ava then turned to the only living No-Maj in her family; Grandpa Jacob Kowalski. For a 75 year old No-maj he was pretty spry, if not a little portly. His genial grin was enough to coax forth one of her own as he threw his arms around her. He owned a bakery; “Kowalski’s Quality Baked Goods”, So that would account for his rather stout physique.  Her Grams wasn’t there today - she was on a trip to get a special birthday present for her.

In fact, her grandpa was one of the only reasons she was going to a school for magic in the first place; when she was younger she would tell them that she wanted to be a “Baker like Pops”, but as her 11th birthday was rolling around and she got her letter to Illvermorny, Pops had convinced her to go if only to come back with fantastic tales like the ones he would always tell her about a ‘Mr. Scamander, Beautiful Queenie, and her sister Tina’ and all of the adventures they went on one fateful night in 1926.

Avada lived for those stories, so when her pops gave her a book called “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” by none other than _The_ Newt Scamander, she read it cover to cover. Multiple times. All of those creatures became one of the things she loved most in the world, second only to her family.

“Are ya gon-uh bring back some-uh those wizardry snacks, Princess?” Pops’ grin was infectious, she swore.

“Of course, Pops, I always do.” She turned to step into the subway pillar but stopped short without looking back. “Oh, Don’t forget to have Levi open his birthday present.”

Atticus responded to her this time, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Uh-course, Princess.”

“Ya bettuh head out, Doll. You’ll miss the train.”

With a final ‘I love ya!’, Avada jumped through the wall, pulling her rolling case behind her.

Where she showed up next was crowded with people dressed just like her; either in trousers or a skirt. They were crowding onto the subway every-which-way, bumping and pushing as if they were somehow going to miss it if they didn’t board _right that second_. The familiar forcefulness of it made her smile.

“Ava!”

The loud voice in her ear was coupled with a hard slap to the back that knocked the air from her chest. At the same time she was pulled to the side by an arm around her shoulders. “Agh…Donny, Winnifred..” Ava could barely push out the words. “..Hey.”

Don Costello and Winnifred Parker.

Winnie was everything Avada wasn’t; Tall to her short, Beautiful to her Plain, Curvy to her Petite, and Light to her dark. Winnie was 5’7”, voluptuous for a 16 year old, and blonde with blue eyes. She was perfect to her best friend, and Don could agree.

Don, himself, was in his 6th year, already a year older than them; handsome, smart and ambitious. Whenever he soared for the skies, Winnie was there to keep him from flying away, or becoming too far gone. They were the perfect match.

They were her best friends, and had been the talk of the school last year. Not because they did anything bad, per se, but because… well...Don was black.

And in America, there was still some racial tension. Regardless, Ava supported her best friends dating; to the point where she nearly lost control last year and lashed out at those few classmates that were making their lives harder. This meant she got a very firm talking to from her Pa, though he let it go when he heard her reasoning behind it. It also helped that she had never lost control before.

See, unlike most wizards and witches her age, Ava had never really needed a wand -- It was more of a formality, as was audibly speaking incantations. Even thinking them: she never really needed to. Her magic had been so powerful that any strong negative emotion would set it off like an explosion. Her Pops compared it to a force of magic he saw when he met Mr. Scamander; an Obscurus. The only difference was that she was born with it, and it ran in her family, which also happened to be -she was told - the 2nd oldest family in all of wizarding history...

“Awh ya ready fuh Exams this ye-ah? I heard weuh gawnna take the same ones as them Brit schools fuh placement, an’ awl that.” Winnie always had a way with words, even if her brooklyn accent was...thick. Ava was glad she was there to bring her out of her thoughts. Even if it meant dealing with Winnie’s _gum chomping._ “I say we stick et to uhm!”

Ava and Don only laughed, both wrapping their arms around Winnie - Ava around her waist and Don around her neck - as they pushed their way onto the subway.  

Avada hoped they tested on magical creatures, those brits.


	3. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She didn’t regret it. 
> 
> Even as she glanced up to see her beloved father’s tear-streaked face in the audience as he saw his oldest child and only daughter enter the cold room bruised and bloody. 
> 
> No, Not one bit. Never.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!!!! 
> 
> This involves rape of a minor, and mention of violence.

###  **Wednesday July 14, 1976; 10AM MACUSA Courtroom. Avada Kedabra’s Trial.** **  
****“Never Give Up. Never Give In.”**

No matter what happened to her, she didn’t regret it. Even as she sat on her knees on the marble floor of MACUSA’s courtroom, beaten but unbroken. Even as her legs were forcefully spread and her arms spellbound behind her back. Even as she was beaten with both spells and fists until she passed out during her interrogations.

She didn’t regret it.

Even as she glanced up to see her beloved father’s tear-streaked face in the audience as he saw his oldest child and only daughter enter the cold room bruised and bloody.

No, Not one bit. Never.

Even then, she could hear her Pop’s voice in her ear when he found her that night. _Never regret it. You did the_ **_right_ ** _thing. No matter what anyone says, you did the right thing, Bunny._

There were whispers in the beginning when she was first arrested that her name sounded like that of the Killing curse _Avada Kedavra_ , and she was nearly beaten as a result, if not of her Pa when he jumped between her assailants and his daughter. He was on his knees with his hands above his head to protect her, tears in his eyes. ‘Her name is a counter to it,’ He’d screamed, his deep voice somehow both broken and ferocious. ‘Don’t hurt her!’

His voice had become almost like a… a beast’s.

One that, she felt, could tear someone apart. Like that night.

Just like everyone at MACUSA, Ava had never heard him like that before. He was the best Auror in all of America and he was on his knees, begging those he thought were his friends not to hurt his princess. He’d been dragged away, fighting all the while to stay by her side.

Avada assumed he must have stopped for fear of her getting sentenced something worse.

“16 year old Avada Kedabra-Kowalski stands charged that, at or near the the city of Brooklyn, New York, on or about the 1st day of June 1976, she did commit  Aggravated Assault and Attempted murder of one 17 year old Benedict Barebone. Defendant pleads not guilty.”

Avada, at this point, was sweeping her gaze over the audience. She could see the mother of that evil scumbag sitting there with her nose buried in a handkerchief. She wasn’t crying, but instead had an expression on her face like the room stank of murtlap venom.

“The young man was assaulted with wandless magic until after falling unconscious in the Kedabra Home Estate in New York. What say you, Child?”

The young witch’s attention was brought back to the judge, Madam President Seraphina Picquery, and was thankful that there was _someone_ with some sense in their bones. The Madam became judge after coming out of retirement prior to her presidency.

“Madam,” Avada began, clearing her throat after a moment when her voice scratched painfully. “It wasn’t assault; it was defense of my younger brother -” Her words were cut off by the mother of that bastard leaping to her feet and shrieking ‘ _Liar!’_. She was quickly silenced with a flick of a wand - her silence was a mere secondary thought, and it seemed to make the foul woman seethe with even more rage.

“Continue, Child. You say ‘defense’?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Ava couldn’t help her voice cracking, nor could she help the hiss of pain when her magic boiled up with her rage. The crackling of her magic was trapped against her shackles, however; a special item her father had charmed in case he had to arrest an especially powerful dark wizard. He modeled it after her power.

He never knew it would be used on _her_ though.

“I had invited Ben ---” She caught herself. “...Mr. Barebone… To my family’s home after the school year ended.”

“You attend Illvermorny, Correct?”

“Yes, Your Honor. House Thunderbird.” Madam Piquery nodded, motioning for her to continue.

“My father was working late for MACUSA so My Grandfather was staying over in case we needed anything - my Stepmother was on a trip.” Oh how Duchess had been delighted to hear that she may receive the death penalty. _The stupid cow,_ came the cruel thought of a beast.

“Your grandfather is a wizard?”

“He is a No-Maj, Your Honor. He’s always looked after us kids and would often bake us scones whenever he was home.” Piquery shot a dark look towards Avada’s Father before returning her gaze to the young girl in front of her. As if he could control was his own father did before he was born. Avada continued.

“We had dinner and I put Levi - My little brother - to sleep after his bath.” _That was my first mistake; I never should have let him see Levi._ “After that, Mr. Barebone and I decided to watch some No-Maj films. He said he wanted to know more about it, so I complied. I thought we had been getting on swell...” The petite brunette added that last part as if in afterthought. “I awoke a few hours later, around midnight, to find that I had accidently fallen asleep on the sofa.” Her voice cracked again, and she coughed to hide her tears.

“Go on, child…”

With the soft coaxing of Piquery, she took a deep breath, dropping formality as Avada continued with her eyes closed - as if reliving the memory behind her eyelids. “I woke, and Ben wasn’t anywhere to be found, so I thought-- I thought he went to find the bathroom.”

She really could remember it vividly.

 _Avada had woken up to a fuzzy Television screen and a tiny voice that cried ‘_ Avy!’ _in her ears. The young woman had rubbed sleep from her eyes, looking around her to find her companion._

How rude, _she thought,_ He asked if he could come over after asking me out, and he leaves me alone without waking me up first?

_Still, she got to her feet._

_It wasn’t unusual for Levi to call out to her in his sleep when he was having a nightmare. She learned that he unconsciously reached out to her when he was afraid, using what she told him in that first year to call her. They also learned he was a legilimens early on and managed to hide it from everyone but Grandpa._ Avada managed to keep legilimency from her recounting of what happened that night.

_Even though it wasn’t unusual for him to wake her, she still reached out on her own to check on him - a skill she only had with Levi, as they were strongly bonded from the moment she held him in her arms - and her magic recoiled as if struck._

Silence, _It said. A spell. But it didn’t register as such, and was only a whisper in the back of her mind._

_Then, a sense of urgency and fear flooded into her. Pulling her magic back, she huffed. He must have been having a horrible dream. She wondered what he was watching, and where in the world it was happening, to make him react like that. Regardless, she couldn’t stop that nagging sense of urgency as she climbed the two flights of stairs to reach their floor._

_That was where she found something strange; Levi’s door was slightly ajar. Not only that, but she couldn’t hear anything from it - when he was having nightmares, or woke up from it, he would always be crying or whimpering until she had him in her arms again. The light from his television was on, so she knew his cartoons were still playing. She reached out._

Silence, _it said again._

_This time Avada reached out with her hand, pushing his door open six inches more, and froze in her place --_

Avada choked on her words. Her voice was the only sound in the entire courtroom, so she took a deep breath, steeled her courage, and continued.

_\--She couldn’t move. What she was seeing before her was much too shocking; her little angel - her precious little punkin - was trapped and spellbound, jinxed into silence as if he swallowed glue while that…_

_..._ **_thing_ ** _was on top of him, huffing and puffing and grunting and groaning._

_She let out a shuddering breath as she said his name. “L...Levi…”. That caught Barebone’s attention, and he met her gaze with a cruel smirk --_

“ -- As if he thought he could ever overpower me and continue…” Avada hissed, the cuffs on her wrists cracking and straining under the pressure of her enraged magic, causing some of the Jury and _all_ in the audience but her father to gasp and jump back as if she were to explode. “I was going to stop him…”

Even if he was dead by the end of it.

_Avada met his smirk with a strangely calm rage and the darkness inside that took the shape of a… creature that her emotions brought forth from her magic. It was all a blur after that. She remembered throwing him to-and-fro around the room, burning him, cementing his blood and liquefying it, cursing him… she remembered wanting to rip him apart with her own teeth - to devour chunks of his flesh until he was nothing but a bleeding and quivering mess. She wanted to continue until he bled out. To swallow his powers, gulp by gulp and mouthful by mouthful. Until he died._

_But she came to, instead, curled in her Grandpa’s arms with his big hands stroking her hair as he shushed her. She didn’t notice her face was wet with tears until Little Levi crawled into her lap, hiccoughing and sobbing and looking to her for comfort. She could only hold him tightly to her chest as she sobbed, Grandpa’s ‘It’s okay, you did the right thing’ mixing with her own assurances to Levi of “I promised I would protect you - I promised I would. I promised.”_

__******Friday July 16, 1976; 11:30AM.  After Avada Kedabra’s Trial.** **  
****“** **Finally Home”**  


After that, the trial was over - ignoring the few comments from the Barebones woman and some other audience. Avada was ruled ‘Guilty’, and her punishment was decided by Madam Piquery; due to the ...circumstances… that caused her violation of the rules, her punishment was much more lenient.

She was expelled from Illvermorny (‘No exception’), but could still practice and study magic either _at a different school_ or _In the Kedabra home estate only,_ under the supervision of her Father or Grandmother. The circumstances included if - and only if - Piquery was sent a monthly update on her magical control until her graduation. Atticus agreed, and he was even going to start homeschooling her as soon as possible.

It was safer, to be honest; he was the only one that understood her magic - aside from her grandmother. Truthfully, Avada thought it was a very kind punishment, though there was no way she was going to tell _them_ that. Especially considering Benjamin Barebones was so close to death when she was through with him that he had to be admitted to St. Mungo’s Hospital of Magical Maladies in the UK.  Rumor was that they were working around the clock to repair the damage she inflicted on every single inch of his body - inside and out.

The caretakers found tearing in his skin and chunks of his flesh missing as if a beast had simply opened its maw and taken a bite of him. He was even babbling about a monster that he ‘had never seen the likes of’ before. “Even in the books,” Ava overheard her Pa - his expression was grim as if he knew something she didn’t. “There were no creatures known to the magical world that fit the description he gave…”

Either way, her Pa had already begun to gather all of the supplies they needed - rather happily, too. He was excited to be able to teach without being ‘stuck in that stuffy old school’. She didn’t think it was stuffy, but Ava still knew her Pa was just trying to make her feel better. He failed, but she didn’t really feel bad about _defending her little brother_ in the first place. What _did_ make her feel wonderful, however, was how angry Duchess was upon finding out that not only was the bane of her existence not going to be ‘terminated’, but she was instead going to be spending the rest of her time at home until she was a proper adult.

The wicked cow’s anger grew even more when she found out Atticus was going to be teaching his daughter how to be a great witch.

Ava got a sick sort of satisfaction from that. It was short lived, however, because Duchess stormed into the estate like a spoilt child, slamming the front door behind her with Atticus and Avada following at their own pace in silence. The closer they got to their home, Atticus grew quiet and even stoic. It was strange for him. He always had a soft sort of smile that wrinkled the corners of his eyes.

The moment they stepped through the door, he dropped his suitcase and pulled Avada into his arms. Atticus was squeezing her so tightly that she could only groan as all of the air rushed out of her chest. Even then, a sense of warmth and love covered her like a blanket and she leaned into her Pa’s chest, her arms wrapping around him to rest her hands at his back. Avada’s face buried into his chest and the young woman felt like the little 4 year old girl that would stay up late eating cookies with her daddy by the fireplace.

“Avada,” He started, tone wavering.  Atticus had his chin resting over the top of his daughter’s head as he stroked her hair - so dark that it could only compare to his own. “I am so _proud_ of you, Princess.” His chest shuddered with a deep breath, voice warbling with tears. “You were so, so brave…”


	4. There's a Place Called Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, Pa?”  
> “...Mm?”  
> “... Do you still love Ma?”  
> He seemed startled by the question, looking up at her with wet eyes before his brows furrowed and the bridge of his nose scrunched. “...I will always love your Ma, Ava.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any creative criticism, please don't be shy! Comment, let me know what you think! I look forward to it. This is a Multi-Part Chapter.

**Friday, July 30, 1976. Home. Atticus’ Study.**

**A Gift “from her, to me, to you,” And her powers.**

Aside from the emotional hug given to her by her Pa, two weeks had passed uneventfully; Atticus started her Schooling the very next day - one Subject for every day of the working week. First with Wizarding history, then Potions, Caring for Magical creatures (to which Ava cheekily mumbled “you mean my _Chores?_ ”, causing Atticus to laugh heartily), Family history (Atticus insisted that it was important, so she treated it the same as any other history) and finally Defending against Dark Magic.

Through this, Ava learned that she was particularly terrible at potions - even if she followed all of the steps to a ‘T’, it turned black like tar, with a consistency of quicksand - had a way with animals both magical and not, and that her name really was a counter-spell to the Killing Curse. That conversation started with Ava asking just yesterday.

_Both Ava and Atticus were in the study. It was Thursday, and Atticus was reading through family journals and looking at pictures with his half-moon reading glasses, trying to figure out just where to begin the lesson. Ava was sitting across from him, clad in a white blouse tucked into a  tan high-waisted ankle length and flowing skirt. No shoes, of course. Her father matched, only with dark brown slacks. She didn’t want to ask. She didn’t want to but the question had been nagging at her for years and her Pa always taught her never to assume. So she took a leap._

_“Hey, Pa?”_

_“...Mm?”_

_“... Do you still love Ma?”_

_He seemed startled by the question, looking up at her with wide eyes before his brows furrowed and the bridge of his nose scrunched. “...I will always love your Ma, Ava.” His eyes swam and he took a moment to gather his voice, placing his fountain pen in it’s setting. “...Why do you ask..?”_

_“I…” Her brain stumbled. “...N..No reason.” That gentleman watched his daughter for a moment before she was forced to look away - out of guilt or shame, she didn’t know. To be truthful, she had been wondering because… if he still loved her Ma, why had he married an evil cow like duchess?_

_Minutes passed in silence until it was filled with the sound of Atticus writing on parchment._

_Ava started again, looking up at him._

_“‘Ey, Pa?” Ava began with hesitation in her voice, but leaned in. Atticus didn’t look up this time, but still responded._

_“M’m?”_

_“Why did they try to attack me before the trial?” She mumbled. Her voice was quiet, as if she didn’t want to know the answer. To be honest, she really didn’t want to know. “...Is my name really the killing curse…?” Her question halted her Pa’s movement and Avada could see him carefully take a breath, set the papers and pictures in his hand onto the desk before him, and gingerly remove his reading glasses to place his gaze firmly on her face. She blanched at the look of anger that made his face taut and had instantly regretted her question._

_“Avada.” He started, tone hard and somewhat conflicted. “You did absolutely_ nothing _wrong. Your name is_ not _the killing curse.” He said it harsher than he should have, but still reached forward and grasped her hand in his larger and slightly darker  one. “It’s used to_ save _life...instead of_ taking it. _”  He had taken a deep breath._

_“Like...Abracadabra? ‘I create as I speak’?” Ava had nearly bounced out of her seat at the revelation, if only to deflate in confusion, head tilting. “But.. that’s not my name.” Atticus merely smiled  adoringly at his daughter, his frustration at mere mention of the trial forgotten._

_“Correct. Your name is the magic derivative of the word. Where Abracadabra has no more power than a prayer, say… to the grass,” Atticus reached out to pat her cheek. “Avada Kedabra has the power to deflect the killing curse. Your mother... She was adamant... didn’t much like the name Attaca…” When her lips quivered at the mention of her late mother, Atticus pulled her hands onto the desk, grasping them tenderly in his own, attempting a smile for her. “We made a deal that she would name you if you were a girl.” He seemed to be pouting, lips puckered out. “I guess Attaca was a pretty bad name, Huh?” That drew a chuckle from the girl, and she blinked to keep the tears from welling in her eyes._

_“Your name is a precious gift from your mother, Avada, and a reminder.” Atticus brought the conversation back to her, tone suddenly sullen. “It will also protect a person_ only one time _against the curse.” Ava’s smile dropped in alarm, but Atticus face remained the same with a carefully placed, very practiced, smile. He had a dull look in his normally vibrant golden eyes. They were cold now.  “Should anyone use it against another in front of you, all you would have to do to counter it is_ Say your name _with the intention of saving them, and it will block the curse - but only in the split second after it was cast.”_

 _“But --” Ava was becoming panicked. “why would My Ma name me that, Pa?” Atticus blinked at her, his expression tell-tale of his sputtering thoughts, but instead he took another breath when her expression showed her spiraling thoughts. His gaze was gentle as he stroked ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “‘She is a beacon of life in the coming darkness,’ She said. Your mother chose that name for you to show the rest of the world that_ true _power can be used for_ saving _life.” Avada had watched as her normally jolly father grew distant, and his eyes misty. “She was tired of the Kedabra family being considered the source of evil - didn’t want us to be shut away anymore. Natalia wanted you to be able to use your true name, instead of being afraid that others might hurt you, or use you for their own selfish gain… So she named you - binding the word into your skin for...protection.”_

 _He never said it aloud, but he didn’t have to;_ her mother named Avada with the assumption that someone, someday, was going to try to kill her daughter. “..What was she like, Papa..?”

_He sucked in a breath at her question, hands releasing hers and clenching into hard fists. They shook with effort, and the fountain pen at the corner of the desk began to quiver in its setting with quiet clicks. Maybe… maybe she shouldn’t have asked. Ava suddenly became acutely aware that her Pa’s magic was just as volatile as her own, if not more._

_He had a pained expression on his face, eyes closed, and  was taking slow breaths that moved his entire body from the effort. Eventually the pen calmed, Atticus’s hands going lax._

_“Your mother…” He started. His voice was solid, as if to mimic a concrete wall created to withstand anything. “...Natalia… Was an amazing and wonderful person, Princess.” Atticus finally lifted his gaze to Avada. “She was beautiful. Her hair was black, like a still lake on a moonless night and her eyes were dark - but they glittered enough to make the heavens jealous.” His voice changed in that moment to one of softness. It was one that she’d only heard when he was speaking to Levi, but never to Duchess. One full of love. “Her smile was like sunshine; everything seemed to be brighter, more vibrant - so colorful - when she was around.” Atticus began to use his hands, palms up. “And she was so kind. You would never meet someone as loving as that wonderful woman. She would give her most hated nemesis the clothes from her back if they needed it.” The growing smile that had started to curl his lips was suddenly gone and the hatred came from him in waves. Like a balloon was rubbed in her hair, the feeling was so strong It was like her teeth were standing on end. “She was so smart, but that kindness got her killed.”_

_Atticus had dipped his head, his breath careful. Calculated. “I wasn’t there to protect her, and she was lured into a stinking alley, where they stupefied her to death.” His voice was suddenly hoarse, the window behind him cracking in the center. “They didn’t even give her something painless.” When the window began to rattle and a long fracture trailed from the window sill to the very top of the window, Ava reached out to grasp her Pa’s hand, holding tightly as if to take some of his anger as her own. The window had suddenly stilled. “...I got there only moment’s after they apparated - their magic was still thick in the air - but I wasn’t… I didn’t get there soon enough, Babygirl.” His pain tasted like copper on the back of her tongue, and she stroked his hand. Tears were threatening to spill, and her own sorrow was pounding in her ears, but she was so focused on her Pa’s pain that even the painful darkness residing inside of her was more concerned with him than itself._

_He let her touch sink in for a few moments, but then Atticus stood and leaned over his desk to place a kiss on her forehead. “I think,” he said, sniffling and attempting a smile. “That we’ll halt the study of  family history and count today as a… lesson learned, yes?” His voice sounded strange - like he was trying to force a pleasant light hearted tone. “Why don’t you go relax? I think I’ve had enough of this lesson myself, princess.” It wasn’t hard to tell that her father was trying very hard to fight his tears, so she hurriedly stood without question, smoothing her skirt and pressing a kiss to his hair with a soft ‘I love you’ before crossing the room._

_“And remember Avada,” Her pa said; his voice had taken on a strangely dark tone that halted her in her tracks, one hand on the doorknob. It was rumbling, like a far off thunderstorm. “No matter how much you believe it to be so, Your name will_ not _bring the dead back to life.”_

_She didn’t have to see his expression to know that, somehow, he had tried that himself._

_Avada left the room rather quickly._

Atticus had locked himself in his office until dinner. At the table, he ate in silence until it was time to put Levi to bed. Ava followed after him, trying to muster the courage to apologize, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth. When Levi was all tucked in, Atticus stood and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair and holding her tightly.

Soon after that, Ava went to bed. So, today, Ava was again in her Pa’s office but instead of sitting across from him, Atticus pulled her chair to his side of the desk. He was dressed in a white tailored button down shirt with the sleeves rolled, the first button undone, and grey slacks. The first thing Avada noticed today was that he wasn’t wearing his reading glasses. The second thing; He wasn’t wearing a watch - neither the silver wrist watch she gave him on her 14th birthday, nor the silver pocket watch that he received from his father. And the third thing; there was a tiny - and old - black box in his hands.

None of that alarmed her - what _did_ alarm the poor girl was that _every piece of furniture_ apart from the chairs they were sitting on and the rug beneath their feet had been pushed against the walls. From the moment she walked into the room her heart was pounding - but she wasn’t afraid, of course.

Why? She was with Atticus.

He started with a slow, happy smile. It was mixed with both pride and caution. “First,” he said, flicking the lock on that little box in his hands with a soft _taptaptap._ “I’m going to tell you the very start of our family, okay?”  Avada couldn’t help her own excitement when his eyes wrinkled at the corners as he looked at her. “I know your Ma -” He was referring to her Grandma Illara. “ - told you about how old our family is, what with being the second oldest family ever -- _blah blah_ ,” He waved it off, as if that fact wasn’t very important. “That, of course, is true. Our family goes back _all_ the way to the Native tribes of America. We, Princess, were a part of the _Wampanoag tribe,_ and members of _our_ family were also of the first few students at Illvermorny.” Atticus had that twinkle in his eye as he said that.

“Don’t interrupt --” he cut her off when she opened her mouth, making her snort with laughter at his excitement.

“-- Our family traded magical knowledge with the founders of the school.  Over time, our family gained just a little more power from that shared knowledge. However; It wasn’t enough for some.” By this point, he opened that little box, gazing at the contents while refusing to let her see. “A young Medicine woman - a powerful witch - grew greedy and committed a terrible deed.” Her father quickly muttered ‘Just what she did is a lesson for another day’, and continued. “As a result, that action cursed our family.”

“Cu--?!”

“ _Avada!”_ The young woman quieted, frowning deeply and biting her tongue to keep from smarting back. “This curse is for the rest of our family’s existence - at least we think so.”

Ava paused, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, and simply looked at her expectantly, she huffed and moodily asked - with a hint of sarcasm. “Well, just what is the curse, _Father_?”

Atticus beamed.

“I’m glad you asked, my dear _precious_ student!” He was having way too much fun with this teacher thing. Ava almost couldn’t see how anxious he was. Almost. “The powerful in our family are cursed as a reminder never to stray again. Hence,” He tapped his cheekbone. “Our eyes.”

“...”

He had grown silent again. Seriously, Ava’s patience was running thin and the teenage girl huffed. “ _Dad.”_ Atticus chuckled. Nervously.

“Ava, we are cursed with a magical creature attached to our souls -- or I should say,” As he said this, his voice was significantly softer, nothing more than a breath below a whisper. “ _we_ _are the magical creature._ ”

Before Avada could start, he gripped her hand in his left one rather hard, making her flinch, eyes wide, and remain seated. She’d begun to shake like a leaf in her chair. “Don’t be afraid, princess.” He smiled warmly, his own honey eyes swirling with gold. “This is why you don’t remember what really happened.” Atticus released her hand to brush his thumb over her cheek. “That’s why Barebones described a creature - she had come out to protect Levi, just as you wanted.” She was a monster --

 _There was a monster inside of her and it nearly killed someone._ Ava started to tear up, her lips quivering as her breath came in sharp spurts. _She_ nearly killed someone. Because she was a monster. The edges of her vision began to splotch.

“But Dad, I-- I--”

Atticus shushed her as she started to gag and cry. His hand was in her hair, pulling her head against his shoulder as he leaned in. “Hey, C’mon.” He hummed. “You did exactly as you should have -- with more restraint than I would have had, I might add…”

Still, Ava continued to sob, her fingers pulling hard at the back of his shirt as she grabbed onto him. The thought kept circling in her head as it finally, weeks later, hit her; _I tried to kill someone._

“ _I wanted to EAT him, Dad!”_

Only then did Atticus freeze.

“I wanted to take him down - to crack his ribcage open like a walnut! I wanted to rip everything out and slurp his guts like it was christmas dinner!” She began to sob, squeezing both hands in her lap. “What am I supposed to do when I feel something like that!? How do I fight that?”

He didn’t know what to say to that so he pulled away, grabbing her cheeks and pulling until she winced and gave a cry and tried to push his hands away.

“Hey! Hey, It’s okay, I know -- Ava-- Av-- _Stop. Crying.”_ The firm tone by itself was enough to startle her. But he smiled. “Ava. You weren’t going to. You’re better than that, Princess. Stop.” He repeated things like ‘you’re a good girl, you never would have’ over and over again until her eyes were merely wet with leftover tears. It took a while, but he finally had succeeded…

“...Are you done now?” Avada blinked up at him, eyes pink and swollen, but she merely sniffled. He cracked that familiar smile and sat back, grabbing the box from the floor that had been forgotten in his lap. “I know it’s hard to control. I noticed when you were younger. Stuff starts breaking, being thrown around, _of course_ , when you’re upset - angry, sad, afraid - correct? Sometimes even happy. I _know_ how hard it is to control. Luckily,” he grinned at her, eyes wrinkling as he showed his teeth. “Your Ma stored this away just for you.” Finally, Atticus revealed to her the contents of the tiny little box; a clear teardrop that was no bigger than the nail on her pinky finger. It had a silver chain wrapped around the top of the teardrop. “Don’t worry,” he said, as if knowing her fears personally. “The chain is magic-infused titanium and magically welded to the gem. It will never break.”

Atticus only leaned forward, hands going under her hair to clasp the chain around her neck. “Now, this is used to teach those in our family - with this curse - how to control our counterparts.” He said ‘counterpart’ so nonchalantly - as if it were simply a part of her personality -  and leaned back in his chair; his expression was proud once again. “What it does is _completely halt_ the flow of unintentional magic. Keep that in mind --” He repeated it four times with a stern gaze. “ _It will completely halt the flow of unintentional magic.”_

“What does that mean?”

“That means, Ava, that it will stop your instinctive magic - the magic that comes out when you’re angry, or afraid. It will stop that magic completely. And it will hurt. Like hell.”

“...So...Like those cuffs you made, right?”

Atticus looked conflicted and met her wide-eyed gaze. “Yes and no. Those were… made with this gem in mind - but the cuffs that you wore during the trial were different; meant for someone… _not_ us. It hurt, but not as much as this is going to, because those cuffs  released your magic bit by bit - like a sieve.” His pride was almost a tangible thing once again, tasting of perfectly seasoned steak. No wonder people searched for praise so often. “You’re powerful enough that it was _visible_ , Princess. We could see your magic leaking from the cuffs. They were _cracking_ under the pressure. That’s why everyone seemed so startled.”

The teenager couldn’t figure out what to say. She simply sat in her chair, playing with her fingers and looking down at her hands. Her face had grown hot at the praise in her Pa’s voice. But she was also ashamed.

“That’s also why we have to teach you how to control it _now_.” He pulled Ava to her feet, pushing their chairs against the wall with everything else, throwing the box on the far sofa.

“Now,” Atticus started, standing a good ten feet away from her. “What I want you to do will be horrible, okay?” _No._ “I want you to remember exactly what it was you were feeling that night--” _Oh, Please no. Please!_ “--when Levi was attacked.” Her thoughts spurred her to shake her head, panicked. “Ava. You have to. I know you never want to think about that again, Baby, but you have to. We know for a fact that _that_ was when your counterpart fully manifested. Now, recount it. Just like during the Trial. Even the details you left out. Start from the stairs.” He coaxed her gently, even as she let out a pathetic, tearful little ‘ _please, Daddy…’_. “Tell me everything, Princess.”

So.

She had to.

Avada began to recount that night once again, trying to force down her anger _inside_ that memory, and her fear _of_ that memory. Knowing now what she didn’t before, she could feel Levi’s terror; him begging her to hurry - to come and save him like she promised. She could feel his urgency shrieking in her head like a banshee.

A sharp pain in the center of her stomach made her gag, but she continued, hysteria growing with the dark voice at the back of her mind; _if you woke up sooner, he never would have touched our Levi._ It hissed in a guttural, furious voice. The pain increased, and she could now see spots at the corner of her vision. _He never would have had to suffer. If you hadn’t’ve fallen asleep -- Levi never would have had to hurt like that!_ If this was what Atticus felt every time he thought of her Ma...

Avada couldn’t hear her father above the shrieking beast attached to her; it was a tornado, roaring like a freight train and throwing itself around the edges of her mind. The creature, in it’s pale, long-limbed and lanky, razor-tooth glory, was sharing her anger. It shared her blame. The hatred for herself. It was right - Levi’s pain was all her fault. The rage was like a burning stone that she swallowed whole; it buried itself in the pit of her stomach while that beast threw itself into her, wanting out - wanting to find Benjamin Barebones, to rip him apart piece by piece, feed on his marrow. To swallow the darkest bits of his soul ---

“ _AVADA!”_

Ava was in agony now, body petrified in pain with her jaw clenching. Her teeth ground audibly. She’d begun to seize. As the beast started to contort in shared agony, collapsing inside like a ragdoll with it’s cold grey eyes rolling into the back of it’s wispy-haired head, Ava did, too, hitting the carpeted floor with a loud _thump!_

“ _Ava, Baby, NO!”_ Like a far off dream, she could hardly hear Atticus cry out. _“Wake up, Avada!”_

Soon enough, she felt her Pa’s hands lifting her head up, fingers fumbling behind her head before her mind shuddered, a curtain of darkness passing over her consciousness. No, not a curtain - like a raincloud on a sunny day, passing over her here and there; she came to just enough to see a blurry figure that she knew was Atticus pacing the room, striding back and forth with his long legs. “...do I do, Ma? ...won’t wake…” The pain became too much, and darkness welcomed her once again as a reprieve, only to leave her. Ava still saw him, but instead his fiery eyes drew her own.

The roar that followed would have startled her if she could move, and all of the furniture slammed against the surrounding walls. Lamps shattered, the desk skidded into the window behind it while the glass split and melted. Her father was in the middle of it all, teeth bared like a devil out for blood...

**Friday, July 30, 1976. Home. Atticus’ Study. About Forty-five minutes later.**

When Ava came to, the first thing she noticed was that she felt like she’d been kicked by a horse. Then, upon opening her eyes, Her gaze was met with Mema’s face; her golden eyes were wide with worry and her lashes wet with tears. Her normally immaculate makeup was smudged down her cheeks with her tears.

“At-- Atty!” Illara cried out, looking up. “Atty!” Ava grunted as she tried to lift her head to find where her Grandma was looking. She was greeted by her father - He looked strangely unlike himself; his hair was messy - sticking up every which way as if he had been pulling it out, shirt rumpled and untucked. He was always so put together. _Dress the part, be the part._ She thought. Her father always used to say it. _It’s all about finding the calm in chaos…_ answered a tired grumble at the back of her mind.

As he collapsed at her side, she noticed the wild look in his eyes - they appeared to be glowing, as if lit from within. Atticus pulled her up into a hug, making her groan and gag at the leftover pain. “I’m so sorry,” He mumbled, voice hoarse and used up. “It was too much at once -- I’m sorry baby.” He drew back, hands cupping her face. She was dizzy, but that didn’t stop her from looking around the office while he spoke, his words going in one ear and out the other.

Atticus’ desk was toppled on its side at the other end of the room as if thrown, the private bathroom door ripped off it’s hinges, the drapes torn, and The sofa was ripped in half with its legs torn off, cushion stuffing strewn about.

Ava interrupted her father’s babbling, her hand on his back when he hugged her.  “..D…” She had to swallow when her words invited vomit. “... Did I do that?”

The silence that greeted her was perplexed; Illara and Atticus were looking at her with surprise. “I-...No,” Illara started. “That was your father.” She said. “We were so afraid that you could be dead, Sweetheart…” The older woman stroked Avada’s hair, tucking a few strands behind her ear. “We took off the gem and your powers didn’t react -- you didn’t wake up -- nothing happened. When it’s taken off, normally the power explodes - resulting in something akin to this.” She motioned to the room around them. “When it didn’t,” Atticus began to look sheepish. “Your father began to panic. Luckily,” She shot a glare towards her son. “He called me before going _completely off the rails_.”

“ _Ma!_ ” His teeth clicked when he gritted them, face flushing. “I’d hope you would act the same way if this ever happens to _me_!”

The Grandmother scoffed, turning her nose up at her son and running her fingers through Ava’s hair. “You’re a grown man; you _should_ have control over your Counterpart, _Atticus_.” The laugh that this pulled from Ava hurt; her grandmother was telling him ‘get over it, you cry baby.’

They then helped Ava into bed and Atticus stayed afterwards, holding her hand tightly in his own; she didn’t notice before, but his cheeks were tear-streaked and his eyes were swollen.

He really had been afraid.

He was just like her - _that’s why he seemed like a beast at MACUSA._ Her dad had been protecting her just like she protected Levi.

 **Saturday July 31, 1976; Home. Nighttime.** **  
** **“** **_It’s a gentle beast, Punkin_ ** **!”**

Against her dad’s protests, Avada couldn’t stay in bed all day after sleeping the rest of friday away and most of saturday - her legs were itching for her to move around. Ava had never felt better, either. It was like a giant weight was lifted off her shoulders after letting out all of that rage. Even her… her _counterpart_ seemed pleased…

Almost immediately after grabbing a quick snack from the kitchen, the young witch found herself in the back courtyard. They lived far enough away from the city that she could see the stars clearly; they freckled the night sky, poking tiny holes into a black ceiling so light could peek through. Ava was suddenly reminded of what Atticus said about her Ma; that her eyes glittered enough to make the heavens jealous. So she smiled.

If seeing the stars was like looking up at her mom, then she would welcome those distant lights with open arms. The courtyard below _had_ no lights, but was instead lit by various fluorescent, nocturnal creatures - the stone path she was walking on was faintly glowing as well. _Like magic_ , she chuckled. _That was stupid,_ that voice inside of her answered the thought.

Ava was lost in her thoughts, though, startling herself and her brother when she bumped into him. Levi cried out, tripping over his little feet. “Levi!” She pulled him to his feet, patting loose dirt from his shorts while she apologized. He only responded by throwing his arms around her neck. “Ah, Levi.” Avada slowly stood, wrapping an arm under him as he wrapped his legs over her hips. He said nothing and buried his face in his sister’s neck.

“Why are you acting like this, Bubby?” She had to scrunch her neck to catch his face. “What’s wrong?” Levi threw is arm out pointing to the edge of the courtyard. Ava held him close as she squinted toward where his finger was pointing. “Oh…” She smiled warmly, looking down at him. “Are you scared of the Whomping Willows?”

“I wanna see Frank!”

He didn’t answer her question, but his pouting lip was enough. Avada said nothing - deliberately walking toward the Willow Grove; he wanted to see their resident Thunderbird. Her grandpa said Frank lived there instead of going to Arizona where he was supposed to. She was honestly surprised he could live here for over 40 years; he was the size of a bus. Either way, after her episode yesterday, Ava learned that the giant Whomping Willows were planted around the property to keep adversaries out - and the cursed ones _in_ . In the case of, of course, one of them losing control. It was too late in the night - Frank was probably sleeping - but she may as well get Levi over this fear _now_ instead of later ---

Levi shrieked, writhing in her arms and kicking out against her. “Levi!” He froze; she never raised her voice at him before. “Stop.” He was breathing hard through his nose, eyes welling with tears. “What did I just say?” Honestly, she was being mean, but Ava didn’t have the patience.

“Avy…”

“I know it’s scary - I was scared of them too, when I was little -”

“--I’m not little!”

She smiled. “Of course not.” She bounced him, hiking him up so he sat higher on her hip. She held him with one arm. “Frank isn’t going to come if you’re afraid of the ones protecting us.” When her little brother looked confused, she continued. “Daddy told me that they help keep the bad guys out, or trap them inside if the good guys have to get out.” They were in the darker corners of the courtyard now. It was a place where, under normal circumstances, Avada would have been terrified - she never knew what kind of monsters lurked in the darkness - the kind that looked like the shadows. But she was home. She had her father. She had her Grandmother. She had the Willows. She had her _name_.

_She had herself._

She wasn’t afraid of the darkness when she was home. Never.

“They love us, Levi.” As she stepped into the garden, some of the bioluminescent flora twitched, the petals closing as they glowed from the inside to light a small area around them. She could see Levi’s face. Ava and Levi were now within touching distance of one of the Willows’ trunks. It twisted, ruffling its leaves, at the sound of her voice. “There’s no reason to be afraid… See?” The palm of her hand had met the trunk and it leaned into her touch. “Try it, Punkin.” She smiled warmly. “It’s a gentle beast.”

She was coaxing him, stepping close enough for him to touch it just like she had. He still hesitated, but reached out when Ava gently grasped his hand touching the trunk at the same time. It shivered again. One of the low hanging limbs creaked as it bent lower, a few leaves brushing the tops of their heads. Levi had flinched at first, but his laugh echoed in the courtyard - startling the flora around them into suddenly closing up and lighting the base of the tree.

Ava gave a sound of surprise. “Levi, Look!” She only just then noticed the colony of Bowtruckles peeking out from inside one of the knots of the Willow. One was climbing out. “Hello~”

Levi responded as well with a ‘Hi!’, causing a few of them to throw up their little arms and wave them around enthusiastically. Levi was wiggling around so much that she had to put him down. She didn’t have enough time to stop him when he threw himself forward, arms out wide as he hugged the tree.

The Bowtruckles rushed for him as well -- and planted themselves on his shoulders and head, their own little arms out wide as they hugged him back.

Apparently…

They like children.


	5. The Calm

**Sunday August 1st, 1976; Very Early in the Morning.**

**“** **_Late night studying._ ** **”**

Levi hadn’t been sleeping well. Of course, It was unreasonable to assume he would. The small boy always awoke around the same time  _ every _ night with a shriek and a violent burst of energy. It was the kind of energy that Avada now recognized with horror as the very same energy she’d given off. It was just after the two had come in from playing with the whomping willows; he was exhausted and didn’t even make it to the foyer before he tucked his face under her chin and was fast asleep in her arms. Avada took her little brother to bed, tucking him in with extra care under the Hungarian Horntail quilt their grandmother made for him from horntail scales and unicorn-hair yarn. “To protect him at night,” She said. It was sewn with the tiny little scales directly from a dragon’s back and would protect Levi in a fire or help deflect any spell cast on him. A dragon’s hide was incredibly tough. 

“Isn’t he lovely…” Avada mumbled aloud. She couldn’t help it when she reached out to stroke his face, brushing the little blonde tufts of hair away from his eyes. He twitched, turning his face into her hand. She stayed like that for a few moments before getting to her feet. She had already taken their shoes off at the door, so she was merely going to her room to change back into her pajamas and then share the bed with Levi; she took to sleeping with him to calm his fits before they got too dangerous. That, and Duchess was absolutely horrid to him whenever she comforted the poor child. It only made the fits worse. 

As Ava was making her way down the dark hallway, she noticed a little sliver of light coming from her father’s study; the door was cracked open, so she peeked in. Atticus was seated at his desk, leaning back in his chair with his reading glasses on as he twirled his fountain pen between his fingers with his sleeves rolled to his elbows. He was humming  _ ‘What a wonderful world _ ’. It had been much too long since she heard him do so. Before he remarried, if she remembered correctly…

Only looking at him like this did Ava finally realize just how  _ old _ her father became. He looked tired. He had wrinkles that weren’t there when she was little - crows feet by his eyes because he was always smiling - and his salt and peppered hair that started greying at the temple. He was astoundingly handsome.

For being her dad, of course.

Avada moved to the side, sitting against the wall to listen to him hum. After a while, the teenager couldn’t help but join in, singing under her breath.

_ “I hear babies crying, I watch them grow _

_ They'll learn much more than I'll never know _

_ And I think to myself what a wonderful world _

_ Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world” _

When the hallway became brighter, she looked up in alarm. Atticus was smiling down at her as he leaned against the doorway. He wordlessly held out his hand, which she’d taken with much embarrassment and followed him into the study.

“Ava.” He started, her hand grasped in his keeping her on her feet. “What do you say we do some spell practice?” She perked up at that. “We never got to on friday, so how about it?” He waited a moment, seeming almost desperate, and before the girl could even answer, he grinned at her and waved both of his hands towards himself. “Hit me with a stupefy, Princess.”

“Uhm…” 

“C’mon!” He seemed impatient - less with her and more because … he was bored. “We can’t fall behind in your schooling. Hit me!” A pink flash of light shot from his fingertips and Avada barely had time to react -

“ _ Protego!”  _ With a wave of her own hand, she sent that pink spell back towards him, and with it a “ _ Stupefy!” _

He responded by laughing, deflecting both of them wordlessly. “Very good!” He said. “What I want you to do is use wordless magic.” He rubbed his hands together, watching Ava. “You are already wonderful at wandless magic -” 

“-Yes, because you made sure I knew how before I started school!” 

He merely waved off her exclamation. “When you call a spell, or curse, aloud, it allows your opponent the opportunity to counter it. If you can cast silently, then you will have that much of an edge on them. Now-” Before Atticus had gotten the word out, he threw another spell at her, and she barely managed to counter with a protego before it singed her fingertips. “Silence, Ava. Try again.” 

So through the night, Atticus sent various spells and curses towards his daughter until, finally, when the sun started to peek over the horizon, she managed silence, both deflecting his spell and knocking him back with a  _ Ventus _ jinx. He’d tumbled into his desk with an ‘Oh!’ face, looking surprised at Avada as they both waited for Levi to wake and cry. When that didn’t happen, they both started laughing.

“Very good, my love!  _ Very _ good. Go nap. We will practice some other time.” With a kiss to her hair, he sent her out the door. “I’ll have breakfast ready at 9, sweetheart.” 

Before long, Avada, dressed in a pink onesie, was crawling into bed with Levi. He woke with a quiet whine, only to curl against her chest, cheek on her shoulder, when he realized it was his sister. They both soon fell asleep. 

**Sunday August 1st, 1976; breakfast, 9AM.**

**“** **_The Calm Before the Storm_ ** **”**

When 9AM rolled around, Ava was trying to dress Levi only to have various toys hitting her head when they flew across the room at her. Levi was cranky, and very hungry.

“Levi!” She struggled to block a toy from hitting her in the face  _ and  _ put the little boy’s pants on him at the same time. “The faster we get dressed, the sooner we can eat, buddy, C’mon.” She managed to pull his pants up, buttoning them for him. “Sissy is hungry, too.” 

They eventually make it downstairs; Levi in baby blue slacks and a pink shirt, and Ava in a navy blue flowing ankle length skirt and maroon button up. They stepped into the kitchen to be greeted by a full breakfast buffet with everything anyone could think of for an truly “American Breakfast” - except Oatmeal - and Atticus, dancing and singing “Come Fly With Me”. Atticus learned not to make oatmeal when Levi covered the kitchen with it as a baby.  It was only them in the kitchen - which wasn’t out of the ordinary. Duchess liked to be out having breakfast with her friends before their atrocious  _ festivities start _ as she liked to say.

As Ava put Levi in his high seat at the table, she called out a “ _ Morning, Pa!”  _ and was greeted by a kiss on the head, so she looked up at him as he spoke. “Morning, Princess. Did you sleep alright? I have bagels toasting for you.”  Her Father was dressed in a frilly white ‘kiss the cook’ apron, navy slacks and a maroon button down shirt that matched her own. His sleeves were rolled up, and his hair immaculately smoothed back, eyes glowing as he looked down at her. Ava merely smiled in response and began to fill her little brothers plate as he started to cry; a few mini pancakes cut into halves and doused in syrup and butter, sliced breakfast sausages, and buttered toast. 

“Hush, Levi. Eat.” She pushed a small fork in his hand and put a napkin in his lap, tucking one into his shirt as well as he immediately started shoveling pancakes into his mouth. When she was confident that her little brother wouldn’t choke, she hopped behind her father, bare feet  _ pat-pat-patting _ against the kitchen tile. She stole a strip of bacon from the ever-growing pile that Atticus was cooking. “Need help, Pa?” 

“No, my dear. Only the toast is left.” Atticus pressed the toaster button down and turned to her, whipping off his apron in an eccentric fashion. “So let us  _ dance _ .” He’d already wrapped his arm around her, just under her right arm, as her left rested on his shoulder. Ava had already started to laugh in response; this was a ‘tradition’, her dad would call it. “A dance, my love.” He sent her a dazzling smile, one that she matched with one of her own, and Atticus waved his hand to the side - the brief  _ krrshh _ of a phonograph setting itself with a record - likely one her father conjured from his study - could be heard through the kitchen.

_ “Aw, Pa-” _

“Feeling the funk, Ava?” His wink made her drop her head in shameful embarrassment as the tune of “ _ Do the Hustle” _ started playing and Atticus almost immediately started shuffling around the island counter. He was rocking his head from side to side with a  _ stupid _ grin on his face. Even then she couldn’t help but take his hand when he held it out to her.

The ridiculousness that ensued was met with hysterical laughter from both father and daughter as they stumbled and danced around on the kitchen tile. Even Levi was rocking back and forth in his seat, slapping his tiny hands together.

They fell against the island counter, panting from exertion and breathless from laughter, ruffled but finally happy again after everything that had happened. Levi eventually slipped from his chair, pattering into the family room - likely to watch his sunday morning cartoons - as Ava and her Pa merely smiled at each other. 

That was something they all needed regardless of how short-lived a reprieve it was. 

“Go sit and eat, sweetheart.” Atticus stepped back with a short pat to her hand, turning to the toaster just as it ‘ding’ed, perfectly browned toast popping up. 

Minutes later, Avada was seated at the dining table with a plate of pancakes, bacon, ham, a Golden Delicious Apple that she bit into with reverence, and a tall glass of Orange Juice, with Atticus seated across from her. He was digging into his own plate of Biscuits and Gravy, bacon, Sausage, and a hot cup of Earl grey. He’d started to casually flip through the paper, reading the No-Maj news. 

“Oh, Look, Honey!” Ava gave a start, nearly splashing herself with orange juice. “The Seattle Seahawks are supposed to play their preseason game today!” He gave a childish grin, wiggling the paper at her. 

“Pa. You don’t even know who that is.” Ava didn’t either, but she knew if she asked Winnie she’d get an answer. Her dad didn’t need to know that. The girl went back to her food, missing the pout on his face. “Hey!” He sounded almost hurt. “I’m groovy!”

“Dad,  _ no.” _

**Sunday August 1st, 1976; Just after Noon.**

With Duchess gone for the morning, the excitible trio had eventually fallen asleep in the family room; Avada curled up against her father’s side, his arm draped over the back of the sofa, head tipped back, with Levi fast asleep against hers. It seemed as though none of them had gotten a proper sleep the night before, so it wasn't much of a surprise when none of them woke from Duchess’ loud entrance. The double doors had slammed behind her, knockers rattling loudly, and the clicking of her heels reverberated throughout the foyer.

Even when the woman cleared her throat and called out, there was no response; they remained deep in slumber.

Until minutes later, Avada slept curled against her Pa’s side, waking to a strange sound and the sudden sight of Duchess with her silky hay colored hair folded back into an impeccably wrapped bun leaning down to kiss her father o the mouth. She couldn’t help it when her face pinched and she leaned away with an ‘Eugh!’, pulling her little brother with her. This woke Levi with a start. He’d looked up in sleepy confusion, blinking, until he pinched his nose at Atticus and Duchess. “Ewwww! Gross!”

At first, the two parents jolted in surprise and duchess’ surprise quickly, and obviously, morphed into embarrassed ager. Atticus’ chuckle only made her face flush a darker shade of pink and she stomped out into the foyer and up the staircase with a huff, heels clicking all the way. Atticus’ chortle followed her, his head thrown back in a loud belly-laugh. This was a common occurrence in the Kedabra-Kowalski household.

Atticus would show Duchess affection, or vice versa, and one of the kids would somehow see it - and make a big deal. Witnessing affection from Duchess was rare - that was just a fact of life - so laughter would ensue when the woman became embarrassed. If Avada let such a thing come to mind, she would think that the Duchy didn’t know how to deal with affection.

Though she also knew the darker side of things.

She knew without a doubt that Atticus and Duchess were having trouble. Things were strained when Levi wasn’t around; it was a tangible electricity. They never said anything negative to each other of course, but it was there.

That, and she could also hear them arguing in hushed tones through the nights. And never once had her Pa raised his voice,

Avada felt a strange sense of pride in that. 

With a grunt of air, the teenager was brought from her thoughts when Levi’s foot went into her stomach as he leapt from her arms, knocking the breath out of her. He was chanting  “ _ Cannabo! _ ” and rifling through what they called  _ The Party Closet _ . It held all of their toys, outfits, costumes, and other things that they used to have fun as a family. That included swimsuits and pool noodles.

“Keep Frank nearby, Kiddo! C’mon, Princess.” Her dad pulled her off the sofa. “What do you say you help me with lunch?” His arm wrapped around her shoulders, a big smile commanding his face. He was always smiling whenever she saw him. “How does soup and sandwiches sound?”

So, for the hour that Levi splashed around in the pool - jumping into it and shrieking ‘ _ Cannabo!’ - _ with Frank the Thunderbird sunbathing nearby, Atticus and Ava set to work on lunch. They were laughing and chatting the entire time he taught her to make a perfect homemade  veggie soup and toasted BLT. Eventually calling Duchess down to the kitchen where Ava had set plates and glasses on the island counter, they all sat to another meal with already grumbling tummies. Levi was wrapped in a fuzzy blue towel, blond hair plastered to his head while his mouth was stuffed full to the brim with BLT. He was making a mess - dribbling mayonnaise and tomato juice all down the towel - but that was normal; it could easily be charmed away. 

Hoots of laughter and bright smiles were all contagious and, though Duchess never joined in on the jokes orr the silly conversations, Avada did occasionally catch a small quirk to her lips, as if the stepmother were fighting a smile. Of course, that was a feat itself; her dad was infectiously funny. Wherever the man went he was well-liked. The oly women in the house caught gazes and shared an exasperated, but amused, expression when Atticus laughed at one of his particularly bad jokes. Levi didn’t know what was going on and simply laughed because his Pa did. He was always at the center of such merriment.

She could never put her finger on the reason  _ why _ . He was just… so well loved. 

It was times like that which made Avada thing Duchess may not be  _ that _ bad. They shared a few hours of jokes and conversation; Levi had curled up in Duchess’ arms, which made her a much more pleasant person even though the child was likely soaking through the towel and drenching the woman’s grey skirt, matching shawl and white blouse. Duchess had even refrained from any nasty glances  at her stepchild the entire day. THey all even bundled together for a photo - Duchess and Avada were on either side of Atticus with his arms wrapped around them and Levi in his mother’s arms. Duchess was even willing to take a photo of the Trio, big smiles on their faces. More often than not, however, her expression had seemed almost melancholy whenever she watched her husband. Until she noticed Ava watching her. She’d quickly wiped her expression - but it happened so often that day that Avada could tell something was just… off.

**Sunday August 1st, 1976; After dinner, 9:30PM.**

As rarely pleasant a day they all head together it all had to come to an end; Duchess had a prior engagement to make, announcing it when she set Levi on the floor and checked the dainty little watch on her wrist - a business woman through and through. The woman refrained from huffing when she noticed the wet spots on her clothes and merely charmed them away with a wave of her wand before leaving with a soft ‘Goodnight’ and a kiss from Atticus. After she departed the home, the trio had cleaned up the kitchen (though Levi only dragged a dish towel over the puddles he made after getting out of the pool) and played a few games of  _ Trouble, Go fish _ and finally  _ SImon Says. _ That is, until Levi threw one of many fits - “ _ are you sleepy, Kiddo?”  _ \- that he was put to bed with kisses goodnight. He was fast asleep by the time 8PM came around.

Father and daughter sat in comfortable silence, the soft tunes of Elvis in the background. 

“Hey, Princess?” He started, with his daughter’s ‘ _ hm?’ _ answering him. “We didn’t do anything for your birthday this year, did we?” He was referring to another tradition. He would always take her out of school for that week and they would celebrate her birthday with just her Pa. It didn’t happen like that this year - Atticus had important work.  “What do you say we do something Groovy?” 

_ That _ made her lift her head, perplexed, and give him  _ a look _ . “ _ Groovy?” _

“Yeah, Groovy. “ He looked slightly offended. “I’m hip, Avada.” This prompted an eye roll, and he got to his feet. Before she knew what was going on, he’d opened the closet and pulled out  _ vibrant _ purple cloth. 

“What… Is that?” 

“Special skating clothes!” His enthusiasm was infectious, if not a smidge ill-informed. “I was told it’s in right now with the kids. What do you say?” Her own smile was threatening to curl her lips. “Want to go to a rink and skate with your old man on your birthday?”

Honestly, he had to ask? He should’ve already known the answer.

“Pa, are you crazy? We can get Lombardi’s pizza too, right?” How quickly his face lit up was like a gift - he couldn’t get ‘yes’ out fast enough. 

**Sunday August 1st, 1976; After dinner, 9:45PM.**

With the night finally winding down, Atticus eventually invited his daughter for a final dance. They were swaying from side to side with Atticus first humming the tune to  _ Stay _ by Jackson Browne before he started to sing it. Ava had her hand in his, one of his arms wrapped around her waist, while her head rested against his chest. She couldn’t help it when her eyes closed and she hummed along with his baritone. 

It brought to mind the struggles her Pa had when she was younger - before Duchess - and he was trying to teach her how to dance. Atticus started with her standing on his feet and counting out the steps, but the eventually, by the time she was 13, they graduated to ballroom dancing. By the time Illvermorny’s first ball of her 4th year arrived, Avada was already far more skilled than anyone she knew at school. 

This was a dilemma, of course, when it came to finding a proper partner to dance with; most of the night she sat alone. Luckily, Atticus had realized at the last minute - somehow gaining permission to steal her away to the courtyard as her first and only dance for the night.

To be truthful; she wouldn’t have it any other way. Just like now, the teenager couldn’t ask for more.

Their dance was cut short when something  _ whapped _ her in the face - eliciting a sharp hiss from her, eyes opening. It was a letter. From MACUSA, it seemed. Atticus had stilled, plucking the envelope from the air where it hung, and slit it open with a practiced hand. His eyes roved over it’s contents --

And Avada had never seen the color drain so quickly from his face like that in her life. 

“Pa?”

He didn’t seem to hear her, so she’d tried again, heart suddenly pounding. “Daddy?”

He seemed to startle, looking up at her before quickly clearing his throat. What was going on? “ I’m sorry, princess. There’s an emergency - I’m sure it’s nothing!” He added that when she suddenly grabbed his sleeve. “Probably just some accidental magic in front of a no-maj.” He conjured his blazer - again likely from his office - and pressed a quick, absent minded kiss to his daughter's head as he pulled it on. “I’ll call your Pops so you kids aren’t alone for too long. I’ll be home tomorrow, Princess.” All the while, Avada was following him while he made his way to the door, wringing her fingers. 

His hand placed itself over hers as she picked at her fingers. This pulled her gaze to his. “I can’t wait until your birthday. I love you.” And the double doors closed behind him, the house suddenly quiet. Cold. She knew he only said it to distract her. It made her smile, so -- 

Why did she suddenly feel so sick? Was it his expression that caused it? He was normally so unruffled by anything and everything, so why now? What had been so horrible that he would lose all color to his face? Her heart felt so cold. 

He just left so suddenly.

But then again, she always felt like this whenever he’d been called away.

She stayed standing at the front door for the hour it took her Pops to get there and coax her to bed, but he exhaled in surprise when touching her arms. Her skin was icy to the touch and even crackled with a thin sheet of ice.  Avada hadn’t noticed her breath until Pops had pointed out that it was freezing in the room -  _ ‘no… just the foyer, It seems’ _ . Even her counterpart was shivering in the corners of her mind, sharp incisors chattering.

His concern was plausible when the thermostat read 70 degrees. And at that point, he merely held his granddaughter, rubbing her arms and patting her back as if knowing her concerns. “ _ He’ll be fine.”  _ he said over and over until eventually Ava was fast asleep on the sofa, skin warm once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one feels kind of like a filler for me - mainly because I kept trying to add more and more stuff and because I don't want to write the next part. Hehe. Enjoy! Comment! Let me know what you think, how you think it'll turn out, or what you would like to see!


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